Indymedia & CACC petition
1 of IMC UK | 09.06.2002 00:02
Indymedia was forced to hand a petition opposing anti-terrorism measures targeting groups engaged in political dissent and the oppression of Indymedia in Italy outside Downing Street following death threats against the prime minister between 2-3pm today.
Around 35 media activists and supporters of Indymedia UK, a network of collectives offering news and opinions throughout the country, today handed in a petition to protect freedom of expression and call for an end to new anti-terrorism measures undermining democracy.
The event was peaceful and police were sympathetic but no further information was provided on the the death threats received by PM Blair. Indymedia and CACC were assured that the petition could be handed in directly next week but the kind offer was declined.
The petition was launched in full collaboration with CACC and the action was taken in solidarity with European Indymedias, following raids on social centres holding Indymedia material in Italy after police brutality during the G8 Genoa protests. Indymedia received cross support from politicians, unionists, lawyers in UK and others alike.
Indymedia's petition concerned raids on Indymedia Italy confiscating material playing a pivotal role in exposing horrific incidents such as an eye-witness account reported by Italian daily newspaper La Republica: The police "lined them [protesters] up and banged their heads against the walls. They urinated on one person. They beat people if they didn’t sing Facetta Nera (a fascist hymn). One girl was vomiting blood but the chief of the squad just looked on. They threatened to rape the girls with batons."
Such acts are unacceptable in any democratic and law abiding nation that seek to safeguard basic human rights. Reporting such events is essential. All media groups should be protected from being targeted or censored in democratic countries in Europe just as the free world demands of non-democratic nations.
CACC's also delivered a petition opposing 'anti-terrorism' laws for which it collected thousands of signatures. This opposed the Terrorism Act 2000 and successor, the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001. Both laws threaten basic civil liberties that have been taken for granted.
The action also coincided with a separate petition because of the fact that the European Union recently issued a new list of banned organisations including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). This measure extends the UK proscription order passed in March 2001 and adopts the US method of seizing financial assets of suspected terrorist organisations. Now Turkey is lobbying the EU to ban around 450 European based NGOs and bodies allegedly supporting terrorism.
Visit www.cacc.org.uk for more information.
The event was peaceful and police were sympathetic but no further information was provided on the the death threats received by PM Blair. Indymedia and CACC were assured that the petition could be handed in directly next week but the kind offer was declined.
The petition was launched in full collaboration with CACC and the action was taken in solidarity with European Indymedias, following raids on social centres holding Indymedia material in Italy after police brutality during the G8 Genoa protests. Indymedia received cross support from politicians, unionists, lawyers in UK and others alike.
Indymedia's petition concerned raids on Indymedia Italy confiscating material playing a pivotal role in exposing horrific incidents such as an eye-witness account reported by Italian daily newspaper La Republica: The police "lined them [protesters] up and banged their heads against the walls. They urinated on one person. They beat people if they didn’t sing Facetta Nera (a fascist hymn). One girl was vomiting blood but the chief of the squad just looked on. They threatened to rape the girls with batons."
Such acts are unacceptable in any democratic and law abiding nation that seek to safeguard basic human rights. Reporting such events is essential. All media groups should be protected from being targeted or censored in democratic countries in Europe just as the free world demands of non-democratic nations.
CACC's also delivered a petition opposing 'anti-terrorism' laws for which it collected thousands of signatures. This opposed the Terrorism Act 2000 and successor, the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001. Both laws threaten basic civil liberties that have been taken for granted.
The action also coincided with a separate petition because of the fact that the European Union recently issued a new list of banned organisations including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). This measure extends the UK proscription order passed in March 2001 and adopts the US method of seizing financial assets of suspected terrorist organisations. Now Turkey is lobbying the EU to ban around 450 European based NGOs and bodies allegedly supporting terrorism.
Visit www.cacc.org.uk for more information.
1 of IMC UK
e-mail:
knklondon@gn.apc.org
Homepage:
http://uk.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=33262&group=webcast
Comments
Hide the following 3 comments
what civil liberties?
09.06.2002 00:29
bob's yer uncle
well now
09.06.2002 01:15
NTG
Re: What I can't do anymore
09.06.2002 21:27
protestors, whether they be AntiWar, pro environment, Anti GM, Anti-Capitalist and so
on. They have put together agreement that prevents people with 'criminal' records from
travelling to other protests in the EU. At all of the Anti-Globalisation protests considerable
numbers of people were turned back. Try protesting about nuclear power and other stuff
and see what happens. Speak about how over a million people have died in Iraq due to
the effects of the sanctions.
For the case of the US, all check out from people like the American Civil Liberities Union
what the USA PATRIOT act is all about. Also check out the past excesses of the FBI
during the 60's and 70s with the COINTELPRO programs.
Also check out the case of the woman Judi Bari, who led protests against logging operations
in California in the early 90s.
I would say just dig a little and be serious and open and you will realize. Don't expect to
get answers as 'one liners', like the way newspaper headlines are or sound bytes. These
issues are very serious and require you to give it some time to read on. After all it is
your freedom.
Big Brother
Homepage: http://www.statewatch.org/